New Rules: You And The IRS This January

The new ObamaCare1099 rule for reporting of all cash, credit and check business transactions of $600 or more is scheduled to begin January of 2012. This is really an extension of the 2008 Housing and Recovery Act IRS rules that start this January when merchant banks and PayPal will report business sales directly to the IRS (the reporting threshold is $20,000 and 200 transactions a year).

These new IRS rules will affect every American:

• Income tax collection could rise as much as $345 billion a year
• Small businesses will be crushed and unemployment will rise
• A cashless economy is further set in motion
• IRS snooping and audits will increase
• Gold can be tracked
• Identity theft is a risk
• Government surveillance will increase

THE TAX GAP

ObamaCare requires that businesses and self-employed individuals submit 1099 forms to the IRS for all business purchases of $600 or more. The stated purpose for this is to close the ‘tax gap’ which is the difference between the amount of what is “owed” and what is paid, due to lack of reporting and under-reporting, and is estimated at $300 billion dollars a year. Last week, the Senate failed to repeal the ObamaCare 1099 rule because they could not agree on how to make up the “lost” revenue that would be generated from strict reporting, which they estimated to be $19 billion over 10 years, which is a GROSS underestimate.

A document from the Senate Committee on Finance in 2009 states that the intention is to close the tax gap (estimated at $345 billion here). If the IRS is 100% successful, they will collect $345 billion a year in extra tax money.

The key issues are under-reporting and non-reporting, so the government’s remedy is to require voluminous detailed record keeping and reporting by businesses and private contractors. They want to monitor how much each business brings in and how much they spend, almost down to the penny (or $600 anyway).

According to the Senate document, the IRS targets businesses with assets under $10 million for the 1099-MISC forms, as they found that only 8% of them file the forms. The IRS expects the so-called “voluntary” income reporting rate to jump from the current 46% to 95%. This means that the IRS aims to collect $345 billion a year by requiring mountains of detailed paperwork from businesses and independent freelancers. Individual filers are also targeted by the IRS. Traditionally, the IRS 1099-MISC form has been used primarily to report independent contractor income (a service), but it now includes the sales of goods totaling $600 or more in course of business.

The purchaser or buyer is responsible for issuing 1099 forms for all business transactions. However, this rule applies only to business exchanges, so individuals will be spared from collecting 1099 forms from grocery stores, for example, if the purchases are for personal use and outside of business.

The new measure is reported to have been waiting in the wings for the right opportunity and now that it is law, and with so much money on the line, it will be almost impossible to repeal. Even if it was repealed, the Housing Recovery Act, a companion to ObamaCare tax laws, goes into effect January 2011.

THE HOUSING AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACT OF 2008 (HR 3221)

Originally, the 2008 Housing Act required merchant banks and third party processors to report volume business sales of $600 or more to the IRS, but PayPal pressured Congress into raising the reporting threshold to 200 credit transactions and payments over $20,000 a year. Any business that uses a merchant bank account or third party network like PayPal with 200 credit transactions and sales of $20,000 or more needs to keep meticulous records because their financial data will be sent directly to the IRS. This begins January 2011.

This new provision will allow the IRS to supervise credit and debit payment streams that were formerly difficult to track. In the past, the IRS needed a subpoena from a judge to get information from merchant accounts. Now the IRS can spy on merchant accounts and audit without notice. Further, the IRS can guesstimate cash sales based on credit sales and compare those to similar businesses. If the IRS deems the cash sales as being too low, it could trigger an IRS inquiry or audit.

Because merchant banks and third party processors will send data directly to the IRS, they will have access to information not only on the sellers, but also the BUYERS! The volume aggregate sales will be sent directly to the IRS, but records of individual sales will be stored as back up data so the IRS may have access to individual buyer information.

Taxation is a function of government, but now banks and third party processors are part of the equation. Identity theft is a risk for self employed individuals and small businesses that use their Social Security numbers as Tax ID numbers with the new bank tracking system.

OBAMACARE AND THE DEATH OF CASH

Close to 60% of Americans oppose ObamaCare and the new 1099 reporting is a way to offset the cost. While the IRS contends that this is not a new tax, it can be argued that it is new because of the 1099 reporting now includes of sales of goods. Even if some States, businesses and individuals reject ObamaCare and want to opt-out, the taxpayer is still stuck paying the bill.

The IRS is the enforcer of ObamaCare. The IRS has the power steal money from bank accounts, garnish wages, put people in jail and some IRS agents carry guns.

ObamaCare reinstates the original $600 credit sales reporting rules of the 2008 Housing Bill and massively expands it by mandating that EVERY business transaction of $600 or more, whether it is cash, check, credit, or any other thing used for payment, to be reported to the IRS with 1099 forms.

For example, if a freelancer buys more than $600 dollars worth of office supplies over the course of a year from Staples, the individual will be required to 1099 Staples and to collect their Tax ID Number.

Additionally, small businesses and self-employed individuals will receive a 1099 form from each business that they sold over $600 worth of goods or services and will have to supply their Tax ID or Social Security Number to the purchaser.

Doug Shulman, IRS Commissioner, said that credit card and debit card purchases will be exempt from reporting with the 1099 forms because payment processors will already be reporting the transactions to the IRS. Under the guise of eliminating the burden of paperwork for small businesses and independents, this is really a step toward a cashless economy because people will want to avoid the extra paperwork and will embrace electronic transactions.

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PayPal stands to benefit tremendously from a cashless economy and increased use.

Imagine a cashless economy where the banks are in charge of access to your money. Recently, the National Australia Bank’s had a computer glitch that left millions of people unable to get their own money. Do the bankers really need any more power?

Cost of ruining small business………$600
Cost of government stupidity………Trillions
Dreams of the American people waking up and taking action…………..Priceless
For everything else, there’s MasterCard

GOLD AND SILVER

Gold and other precious metals will also be subject to the new rules, enabling the IRS to track gold ownership. Currently, gold is easy to transfer without tax because its value is intrinsic, or contained within the item itself.

According to the ObamaCare mandate, when precious metal dealers buy jewelry, coins or bullion from businesses or individuals they will be required to submit a 1099 form with Tax ID numbers or Social Security numbers from the sellers, which includes private individuals.

IRS EXPANSION

The government has expanded the power of the IRS in order to collect revenue that could be as high as $345 billion in taxes a year. The IRS is expected to add 16,500 new auditors, examiners and support staff. In 2009, the IRS employed over 93,000 people which includes 50,000 employees that work in the IRS examination, collection and investigation fields. The IRS spent only 50 cents for every $100 it collected.

In 2009, about 150 million income tax returns were filed and over 70 million people, or 42%, owed no income tax due to tax credits, deductions and exemptions, which are forms of welfare.

It is estimated that up to 30 million people do not file income tax returns at all. About 10 million of these people have paper trails following them because they receive W-2 or 1099 forms. The other 20 million deal in cash, have no records for wages or pensions or are affluent non-filers. However, failure to file a tax return can be like playing Russian roulette; while the current IRS audit rate is only about 1%, that number will increase with the addition of the 16,500 new agents.

WHO PAYS TAXES?

According to “The Great American Tax Dodge”, the IRS is far more apt to go after middle-income non-filers and does not fully investigate affluent non-filers. The IRS uses the lame excuse that the rich may under-state the taxes owed and that the IRS would prefer nothing over under-stated taxes. It is more likely that the IRS avoids investigating the rich because they have resources to oppose the IRS. The IRS is more apt to harass middle income earners who pay fines easily without a fight.

In 2009, small businesses employed half (60 million) of private sector non-agricultural workers; 15.5 million of those were self employed individuals. The IRS collected $1.36 TRILLION from individuals and $395 billion from corporations in 2007.

Most large American corporations like GE, Exxon, Google, MicroSoft and Berkshire Hathaway that have international operations pay very little or no taxes at all. This is accomplished by routing money through foreign countries with different tax laws and other loopholes.

While this may anger people, it is important to remember that corporations pass taxation costs on to the consumer, so the people buying the products bankroll corporate taxes.

CONCLUSIONS:

The left/right paradigm is an illusion: Bush’s Housing Bill of 2008 and ObamaCare are companions. It is worth noting that both parties work together to accomplish the same agenda. In this case, it is total financial control, pressuring the middle class for hundreds of billions of dollars more in taxes and moving toward an electronic-based economy that shuns cash. This is a very important point because people must give up this illusion in order to elect Constitutional leaders.

Many struggling small businesses will be crushed underneath the pressure of painstaking record-keeping, productivity loss and increased taxes. Failure of small businesses will create more unemployment. More unemployment will result in more welfare and reliance on the government. The government will then want more tax money.

The best way to cut the Gordian Knot is a clean sweep of these complicated and unfair laws.

Right now, individuals have the choice to protect their assets and privacy by turning away from credit and debit cards and trading in cash, precious metals and barter. This would also bolster local economies.

The simplest way to get rid of ObamaCare is to forgo the lengthy repeal and litigation processes. The States can nullify this new law even before it goes into effect. If enough States nullify ObamaCare, it becomes invalid.

The 10th Amendment Center has written nullification legislation to get rid of ObamaCare.

The Corporate Excise Tax of 1909 is a separate animal from the 16th Amendment income tax established in 1913. The cleanest way to eliminate IRS tyranny is for the States to nullify the 16th Amendment because it opposes the Constitution- it is a direct tax that fails uniform application.

The most accessible power lies with the States, so it is crucial to support Constitutional leaders who will apply the Tenth Amendment.